THE GUIDE SUSTAINABLE TOURISM 2021


Parc national des Pyrénées Right on the border between Spain and France, high in the Pyrenees, this 458km2


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encompasses ski resorts, testing mountain trails, steep valleys and some of the highest peaks of the Pyrenees, including Vignemale, Pic de Marboré and Pic Long. In December last year, local animal lovers got particularly excited when a group of 10 ibex was released into the park, boosting the overall population to 170. www.pyrenees-parcnational.fr


The Mercantour National Park is just one of France’s many wide open spaces where you can enjoy getting closer to nature


Écrins, whose summit rises to 4,102m, making it France’s only peak higher than 4,000m outside the Mont Blanc massif. In fact, before the annexation of Savoy in 1860, it was the tallest mountain in France. There are plenty of other high peaks – as well as glaciers, mountain pastures, woodlands and lakes – in this park, which occupies an area of the western Alps called the Dauphiné Alps. And here’s a little factoid you can impress your dinner party guests with: according to Guinness World Records, the Barre des Écrins is the subject of the longest photographed line of sight on the entire planet. In 2016, photographer Marc Bret captured an image of it while standing 443km away on a mountain top in the Pyrenees. Strange but true! www.ecrins-parcnational.fr


Parc national des forêts Established in November 2019, this is France’s newest national park, and the closest to Paris. Spanning Champagne and Burgundy, it incorporates vast swathes of forest, and is home to deer, wild boar, European wildcats and black storks. Here’s how the tourist office rather bucolically describes the


140 ❘ FRANCE TODAY Apr/May 2021


area: “There are vast forests, and narrow roads plunging into hidden valleys with their whispering streams. There are magnificent villages steeped in the history of the Knights Templar and the Cistercian monks. There are princes’ tombs in abbeys, châteaux with Romanesque churches, marshy forests, and dry meadows covered with rocky scree. This is an astonishing territory dating back to the Iron Age. It’s a world of enchantment and astonishment, perfect for hikers.” Go and see for yourself. www.forets-parcnational.fr


Parc national du Mercantour Apparently there are over 600km of waymarked footpaths spidering across this 679km2 park in the far southeast corner of France. You’ll find stunning mountain meadows, steep valleys and villages perched high on rocky outcrops. One particular highlight is the Vallée des Merveilles (Valley of Marvels) where you can spot myriad Bronze Age rock carvings, especially on the slopes of Mont Bégo. They include primitive images of humans, animals, weapons, suns and stars. It’s also home to around 50 wolves which


migrated here from Italy as recently as the 1990s. www.mercantour-parcnational.fr


Parc national de Port-Cros Comprising the islands of Port-Cros, Porquerolles, Bagaud, Gabinière and Rascas – all off the Mediterranean coast near Toulon – this is France’s smallest national park, at just 46km2


, and much of that is sea. This year the park has a brand new employee: Newt is a Belgian Shepherd dog whose role is to sniff out and protect rare species on the islands. Newt has an excellent resumé, having already made a name for himself through his conservation work with wolves on the French mainland. www.portcros-parcnational.fr/en


Parc national de la Vanoise If you’ve ever skied in the French Alps, there’s a good chance you’ll have crossed into this national park at one time or another, since the very popular ski resorts of Les Trois Vallées, Tignes, Val d’Isère, Les Arcs and La Plagne sit around the edge of its border. Established in 1963, this is France’s oldest national park. At its centre is the Vanoise Massif, the third highest in France, and home to Grande Casse, whose peak reaches a lofty 3,885m.


Here, if you’re lucky, you’ll spot marmots, mountain hares, bearded vultures or golden eagles. If you’re really lucky you may even catch sight of an ibex, a wolf or a lynx. www.vanoise-parcnational.fr/en


France’s regional nature parks Playing second fiddle to France’s national parks are the 56 parcs naturels régionaux, or regional nature parks. With 54 of them in mainland


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With views like this, you’ll love the Parc naturel régional des Baronnies Provençales


IMAGES © SHUTTERSTOCK, PNR BARONNIES PROVENÇALES


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